Fully biodegradable self-healing hydrogel prepared based on poly(aspartic acid) and pectin for drug delivery and anti-tumor therapy

With biocompatibility and biodegradability, self-healing hydrogels prepared from biopolymers show great advantages in bioengineering and bioscience as drug delivery carrier. In this research, the biodegradable hydrogel was constructed based on poly(amino acid) of poly(aspartic acid) (PAsp) and pectin for in vivo antitumor applications as DOX release carrier. The PAsp bearing hydrazide groups and isopropyl groups (PAPH) was synthesized by ring opening of polysuccinimide (PSI) by isopropylamine and hydrazine, and used to fabricate fully biodegradable hydrogel with oxidized pectin (OPec) through dynamic acylhydrazone bond cross-linking. The regulatable mechanical strength of the hydrogel could adapt its bioapplication, and the excellent biocompatibility ensured biosafety in biomedical areas. Furthermore, the pectin backbone and the PAsp endowed the hydrogel with biodegradability both by enzyme and in vivo. The PAPH/Opec hydrogel as DOX carrier inhibited the tumor growth with the tumor weight 80% lower than the control group and reduced the in vivo toxicity of the DOX. As a result, this biodegradable PAPH/Opec hydrogel could find show great potential as sustained drug delivery vehicle in biomedical areas.